Desert biomes

Sara Middleton

Desert biomes
Deserts are arid (dry)
environments where there
is less than 250mm of
rainfall annually.

N.B not all deserts are hot for example the Gobi desert in Asia is a cold desert

Global distribution of
desert biomes

30 North
equator
30 South
Desert biomes are generally around
a belt of 30 north and south
latitude.

Desert types
Subtropical
The climate is warm or hot and dry year-round. These regions
receive an annual rainfall between 30 to 65 cm and occurs
mostly during the summer monsoon season. Temperatures
during summer may rise to 40C. The climate is pleasant
between October and March, hotter between April and June.
Monsoon rains occur in most regions in summer between
June and September.
E.g. Sahara

Cold deserts
These deserts have long, dry summers and low rainfall in winter,
generally found in the Antarctic regions. They have short,
moist, and moderately warm summers with fairly long, cold
winters.
E.g. Gobi desert

Coastal
These have cool winters and warm summers. A coastal desert, the
Atacama of South America, is the Earth's driest desert

Polar deserts
Climate is cold year-round. In polar deserts, snow dunes occur
commonly in areas where precipitation is more abundant.
E.g. Antarctica

Climate- what causes deserts?

air masses found 30 north and south of the
equator move in circular patterns (Hadley Cells)
In a Hadley cell air rises at the equator.
As it rises it cools causing the moisture to
condense and precipitate, leaving the air dry.
This dry air descends around 30 north and
south of the equator.
In areas where the air descends a high pressure
zone is created.
Winds blow outwards from high pressure areas.
(So no moisture can be brought in by the wind)
Therefore there are very low precipitation levels
Hence the location of many deserts are found
there

Climate- continued
Hot deserts have extreme seasonal and daily temperature variations
Seasonal variations:
During the summer months temperature
ranges are between 30- 49C. Very
little or no precipitation occurs during
the summer months and evaporation
rates often exceed precipitation
During the winter months temperatures are
lower around 10-20C. Most of the
annual precipitation occurs during
these months.

Diurnal (daily) variations:

Temperatures exhibit daily extremes because the
atmosphere contains little humidity to block
the Sun's rays. So during the day the suns
energy is absorbed on the ground surface
which heats the surrounding air.
At night the reverse happens the hot ground (and
air) radiates the heat energy gained during the
day back out to space causing the rapid
temperature drop. Night temperatures can
reach below 0C!

Soil
Little
moisture

coarse

dry
alkaline

Little
humus

Occasionally when a lot of rainfall occurs in a short

space of time very little of the water is infiltrated into the
soil as it is very hard and dry. Therefore there is high
surface runoff.

Plant adaptations
Xerophytes
Are plants that have adapted to arid
environments by storing as much
of the little water made available
and reducing evapotranspiration
rates.
e.g. Cacti

Phreatophytes
Are plants that have adapted to arid
environments by growing extremely
long roots, allowing them to acquire
moisture at or near the water table.
e.g. Ocotillo bush

Other common adaptations

Reduction of leaves, often into
spines for protection against
animals trying to consume the
stored water. (The flat surface
of normal leaves provides a
huge area for water loss.)
Development of the stem as a
major photosynthetic
structure. With leaves
reduced, photosynthesis has
to occur somewhere.
Water storage in the stem water
is needed for many things; if
the plant is to have it available
it must be stored.
Development of defence
structures- spines, but
chemical defences are also
very common. With less
photosynthesis taking place,
growth of desert plants is often
very slow, and under these
conditions it is advantageous
for the plants to make greater
investments in defence.

Coating the plant with a thick

waxy cuticle- this helps reduce
water loss.
A dense coating of hairs
(trichomes). This slows air moving
over the surface of the plant; since
air in the desert is very dry any air
movement tends to increase
evaporation. The trichomes create a
microlayer of humid air around the
pant, particularly in the vicinity of the
stomata.
Extensive underground root
systems. These roots can either
grow straight down to groundwater, if
it is available, or spread out
extensively under the surface of the
desert. The latter growth form
allows the plant to take advantage of
short, intermittent rains. Key in this
strategy is elimination of
competitors' roots; many desert
plants inject toxic chemicals into
the soil to kill their competitors roots.

Animal adaptations -Camels

Adaptation

Function

Two rows of long

eyelashes

Protect against blowing

sand and the sun

Nostrils can be closed

Keep out blowing sand

Thick fur and under wool

Fat stored in hump(s)

Broad, flat, leathery pads

at the bottom of their hooves

Provide warmth during cold desert nights

and insulation against daytime heat

Help it to survive long periods

without food and water

Pads spread out when the camel places

its feet on the ground thus creating
a "snowshoe effect" and preventing
the camel from sinking into the sand

Animal adaptations- Fennec fox

Adaptation
burrowing and nocturnal lifestyle

large ears (about 15cm)

Thick, sandy fur

Function
Cooler temperatures at
night mean less water
loss while carrying out
activities.

help dissipate excess

body heat on hot days in the desert.

helps insulate them from the cold desert

nights but also reflects heat,
As well as providing excellent
camouflage.

Other common animal adaptations

Panting to reduce body heat
Secreting highly concentrated urine (contains
less water)
Seasonal migration
Long- term dormancy that ends only when
triggered by moisture and temperature
conditions

Nutrient cycling- Net primary productivity (NPP)

Pyramid of numbers

NPP is the amount of organic material

available for consumption
in a given area minus
the losses plant respiration.
Normally expressed as g/m/yr
Deserts have one of the lowest mean NPP
of 0.003 g/m/yr compared to 2.2 g/m/yr for
a tropical rainforest!

Nutrient cycle for a desert biome

= biomass,

= soil,

rom
ut f
Inp
f
rain
all

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a
F

Degr

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ut a

litt

=litter

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e

s
Lo

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on &
m

om

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pos

B
Uptake
by
plants

inera
lis

si

ation

nr
un

-o
ff

Nutrient cycling

Development
of cities

Human impacts
Oil drilling
Irrigation
Settlements

Interference of
natural
ecosystems

Agriculture
pollution

Human impacts
Deserts are also being destroyed by development.
As populations in desert cities rise, so does the
demand for water. Many desert streams, and ground
water sources, once used by animals have been
drained for industries, agriculture and people.